Method of applying designs to flexible sheet materials



July 7, 1931. 1 slNDLER 1,813,587

METHOD OF APPLYING DESIGNS TO FLEXIBLE .SHEET MATERIALS Filed March 5. 1929 Patented July 7, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE' JAY J'. SINDLEB, 0F FRLmGHAI, ISSAGHUSETTB, LSSIGNOB T0 HODGIAH RUBBER OOIPANY, F MINGHAI, IASSAUHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF IABSACHU- BITTE METHOD 0F A PPIYING DESIGNS TO FLEXIBLE SHEET MATERIALS Application tiled latch 5, 1929. Serial No. 344,152.'

The present invention provides a method of applying predetermined designs or patterns (of any desired character) to resilient sllet materials, such as cloth, paper, and the In the art of waterproofing cloth, for example, it is now common ractice to apply one or more thin layers o gummy or (plastic materials, such as rubber compoun s or cements, by passing the cloth over a spreading roller and beneath a fixed doctor blade arallell to the roller and closely spaced t erefrom) and simultaneously feeding a mass of the rubber compound to the upper surface of the cloth. The cloth draws the rubber mixture with it as it passes under the doctor blade, thus forcing the plastic material into the cloth and also leaving a thin adhesive film of `the rubber upon the 80 surface. Such procedure is effective to produce a sheet of rubberized cloth, carrying a su erficial coatin of rubber which is firmly ad esive to the c oth and serves adequately to waterproof the fabric as a whole. Successive layers may be applied, in like manner, to build up a composlte coating as thick as may be required. The coating is in either case uniformly spread out and distributed evenly over the entire surface of the sheet. Consequently only plain-colored sheets are produced and no pattern is obtainable by this method.

Itl is very desirable in such fabrics, however, to be able to produce definite patterns or designs on they finished sheet. These may be for decorative purposes or may consist of distinctive markings such as the makers name on the selvedge, or suitable indicia to designate the style of goods, quality, etc. It is also desirable to enable the manufacturer to employ designs in more than one color, and thus to increase the variety of fabrics which he may oier to the trade. At the same time, the designs should be well defined, weatherproof, and water-proof, and not exhibit any tendency either to migrate into other parts of the fabric or to fade. Moreover, the coating material\ should be light, pliable, and tenaciously a herent to the cloth or other 5 backing material used. At the same time, it

is important that the equipment required be inexpensive and the procedure adaptable to present practices of the art.

Accordingly, an object of this invention is to provide a simple method and convenient means for positively imparting definite, predetermined designs or patterns to surfaces or sheet materials of the character described, which ma. extend either len hwise or transversely o the sheet, or bot It is also an object to attain the development of such designs in one or more colors and/or materials, as may be desired. Other objects of the invention will appear from the following disclosure and claims.

This invention includes the discovery that by drawing a flat sheet of resilient material (such as cloth) through a narrow constricting aprture or slot, such as the space defined tween a spreader roll and a doctor blade, with a mass of plastic material on its upper surface and (below the cloth) a relatively rigid stencil sheet or surface having a relief pattern therein, the plastic material will be applied to the surface of the resilient sheet in accordance with the pattern on the stencil. The spreading action may be effected upon the plastic material by suitable movement of the sheet against a fixed doctor blade or of the doctor blade against thesheet' in fixed position or both doctor blade and sheet may be given relative movement.

The upper surface of the coating material is determined by the straight edge of the doctor blade, while the depressed or cut out areas of the stencil permit the overlying sheet to yield to the constricting pressure exerted upon it by the plastic material as it enters between the doctor blade and the spreader roll. The depth to which the sheet is thus depressed will be determined by various factors among which maybe mentioned, the size and depth of the relief or cut out portion of the stencil, the viscosity or plasticity of the compound used, the spacin of the doctor blade, the elasticity of the s eet of goods under treatment and the tension under which it is drawn through the aperture.

On the portions of the sheet overlying the plane (or uppermost) portions of the stencil (if the doctor blade is forced rmly against the sheet, as by setting it down close inst the sheet, and so forcing the sheet close to the stencil) the deposit of p astic material will be relatively By very. close setting of the blade, the sheet may be left entirely free from any de 't whatsoever in these areas. In

the app 'cation of successive layers of plastic` compositions to the sheet, the doctor blade ma be set suilciently tight against the flat or rtions of the stencll not only to prevent t e application of the plastic material at such points but to scrape of a portion of the previous layer. This is not ordinarily desired but may be employed to advantage for obtaining special effects, in accordance with the invention. A

The stencil may be of the ordinary type used for marking or stamping purposes, having the desired pattern formed therein by perforations passing completely through the stencil sheet. However, the stencil may merely bear the pattern depressed into its surface in intaglio or formed u on the sur- -accompanying drawings,

facethereof in cameo relief. I the former is employed, the perforations of the pattern will permit deep deposits of the coatllg material upon the backing sheet and the esign produced thereby will stand out in bold relief. If an intaglio or depressed pattern stencil is used, the design will assume a varied relief accordingly. If the latter type of stencil is used,-that is a cameo pattern,-the deposit of the cloth intermediate the elements ofthe design or pattern, while those areas of the sheet overlyin the design will be thin or scraped clean y the doctor blade, thus retaining little or none of the plastic material. The thickness of the applied layer is thus in part determined by the thickness or heilt of the stencil and in part by the space tween the spreader roll and the doctor blade. A plurality of layers of the material may be applied before the design layer, and successive matching or overlapping design layers in different coloredmixtures or mixtures of different materials may be applied in like manner.

A typical and preferred instance of the application of the invention will be described with respect to the coating of cloth with rubber cement compositions, for making waterproof material such as that used in light weight raincoats,-reference being had to the in whic Fig. 1 is a side elevation, more or less diagrammatic, of a spreading machine;

Fig. 2 is a detail cross section, somewhat enlarged, of the doctor blade and roll shown in Fig. 1, showing a stencil, a sheet and a charge of lastic rubber thereon;

ig. 3, is a developed view of the stencil, shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged cross section of the plastic material will be applied to stencil of Fig. 3 and of the superposed sheet of cloth and rubber coating thereon;

Fig. 5 is a cross section of a modified type of stencil;

Fig. 6 is a cross section of another type of stencil and of the superposed sheet o cloth and the rubber coating applied. with the doctor blade set ti ht; and

Fig. 7 is a p an view of a sheet of cloth coated by means of the stencil shown inFigs. 3 and 4.

In operation, the sheet of cloth or like material 1 may be fed to the s reader roll 3, and thence drawn under the octor blade 4 and over a heated table 5 by means of roll 6 to a take-up mechanism 6*. The rolls and take-.up mechanism are positively driven by any suitable power means (not shown) gradually to advance the sheet along the path indicated.

The doctor blade 4 is preferably ground to accurate parallelism with the surface of the spreader roll and is mounted upon a horizontal axis 7 between a pair of slides 8, which in turn are vertically adjustable in guideways 9 by means of hand-screws 10. The doctor blade 4 may be swung forward upon its axis 7, to permit the feeding of the sheet through the machine, but is then swung back again to vertical position or any angle desirable for proper operation in which it is retained against further backward movement by abutting members 11. These are likewise rendered accurately adjustable by means of screw threads 13. The doctor blade 4 is preferably relatively thick at its upper edge 14 to provide the requisite strength but the' portion 15 adjacent to its lower edge 16 is preferably thin. The lower edge 16 is parallel to theupper portion of the spreader roll and spaced therefrom in accordance with the work to be performed. It may be o f. square cross section as shown or sharpened to a knife edge if required,-e. to completely remove the plastic material rom the surface of the sheet.

The spreader roll 3 (Fig. 2) is a plain cylindrical roll, over which the stencil 17 may be fitted in the form of a cylinder 18 or it may be in the form of a long sheet, assing continuously over the spreader roll) eneath the sheet of cloth. The cylindrical stencil 18, as shown in the developed view of Fig. 3 and in cross section by Fig. 4, carries the design in recessed depressions 20 or in perforations 21 as shown in Fig. 5 which pass completely therethrough. Obviously any pattern may be provided and used on the same apparatus, by fitting it over the spreader roll 3 and fixing it in position as by a key and slot (not shown) or by cementing or gluing or other means, depending on the nature of the'material of which the stencil is made. After adjusting the stencil in appropriate manner and threading the sheet 1 through the apparatus as described, a mass of the plastic coating mathe cloth upon which the desi taketerial is applied to the upper surface of the cloth. The following rubber cement, for example, may be used;

1 Pounds 5 Pale crepe Arubber 25 White factice 2% Lithopone P 1 Whiting Dry color lakes 5 1 High test gasoline 100 This material may be s readin a thick m11 23 as shown and confine to thatportion of the doctor blade which covers the width of is being applied by means of adjustab e guides (not shown). It is distributed.V by a knife or Wooden addle, if necessary, so that the full width o the cloth shall be covered at all 20 times.

The drivino mechanism may now be started, to draw tlie cloth 1 from the supply roll 1 over the spreader rolls 3, beneath the doctor blade 4 over heating means 5 and to the u roll 6".

As he sheet passes upward over the roll 3 and comes into Contact with the under surface of the mass vof plastic composition 23, it draws the same forward by friction and w also adheres to it. At the same time the plastic mixture penetrates into the sheet (especially with a fibrous or porous sheet, upon the first pass) being'forced against it under increasing pressure as it approaches the doctor blade, anda still greater .pressure as it passes beneath the knife edge of the same.

At this stage each portion 26 of the sheet 1, which lies over the perforated areas 20, 21, of the stencil is depressedv (as shown in Fig.

.0 2) and thus receives a deposit 26l of the plastic material of correspondingly increased thickness. The amount of depression of the sheet 1 will overn the thickness of the deposit 26. ence, shallow or small 'depressions in the stencil will produce thin deposits of the plastic while deep and large depressions will produce thicker deposits. The top .of the layer of material being applied is defined by the edge 16 of the doctor blade.

Upon emer g from beneath the doctor v' o blade 4, there ore, the sheet will have the appearance indicated and will appiear in lan view as shown in Fig. 7 ,the thic er portions appearing dark and the thinner portions cori; reslpondingly light.

f the doctor blade is set suiciently close and tight to the sheet 1, those portions of the sheet overlying the upper or plain portions of the stencil will acquire none of the plastic so' coating material (if the sheet has been previy ously coated to render it nonabsorbent of the plastic material) which will consequently be.

applied only to the areas (26, 26, 27) which are depressed into the stencil openings. The

product will then have the clearly defined pattern as shown in Fig. 7.

ly set doctor blades, when each coating treatment results in the application of the fresh plastic material only to the correspondingly colored design portlons of the sheet as indicated in Fig. 6. Otherwise, one layer may more or less obscure the preceding layers although in some cases this may be a-desirable result.

I claim:

1. A method of producing predetermined patterns or designs u 0n sheet materials comprising the steps o applying a suitable plastic coating material to the surface of the sheet, supporting the sheet upon a stencil bearing the desired pattern thereon, in relief, and forcing the stencil, sheet and plastic material through a constricting aperture or slit, thereby to force the plastic material upon and into the portions of said sheet overlying the depressed areas of said stencil.

2. A method of producing predetermined patterns or designs upon sheet materials comprising the steps of applying a suitable plastic coating material to the surface of the sheet, supporting the sheet upon a stencil bearing the desired pattern thereon, in relief and forcing the stencil, sheet and plastic material through a constricting aperture or slit,

thereby to force the plastic material upon and into the portions of said sheet overlying the depressed areas of-said stencil and scraping it off those portions of the sheet overlying the raised areas of the stencil.

3. A method of producing predetermined patterns or designs upon sheet materials comprising the steps of applying a suitable plastic p coating material to the surface of the sheet, supporting the sheet upon a stencil bearing the desired pattern: thereon in relief, and forcing the stencil, sheet and plastic material through a constricting aperture or slit, thereby to force the plastic material upon and into the portion of said sheet overlying the depressed areas of said stencil, and subsequently drying the thus coated sheet.

4. A method of producing predetermined patterns or designs upon sheet materials comprising the steps of applying a suitable plastic coating material to the surface of the sheet, supporting the sheet upon a stencil bearing the desired perforated pattern therein, and forcing the stencil, sheet and plastic material through a constricting aperture or slit, thereby to forcethe plastic material upon and into the portions of said sheet overlying the depressed areas of said stencil and scraping it off those portions of the sheet overlying the raised areas ofthe stencil, and subsequently drying the thus coated sheet.

' 5. A method of producing predetermined patterns or designs upon sheet materials com- 5 prising the steps of applying a suitable lastic coating material to the surface o the sheet, supporting the sheet `upon a stencil bearing the desired pattern thereon in relief, and forcing the stencil, sheet and plastic material through a constricting aperture or slit, thereby to force the plastic material upon and into the portion of said sheet overlying the depressed areas of said stencil andlscraping it olf those portions of the sheet overlying the raised areas of the stencil to leave\a thin coating only upon such portions of the sheet. 6. A method of producing predetermined patterns or designs u Vn sheet materials comprising the steps o applying a suitable plastic coating materi-al to the surface of the sheet, supporting the sheetupon a stencil bearing the desired pattern thereon in relief, and forcing the stencil, sheet and plastic material through a constricting aperture or slit, thereby to force the plastic material upon and into the portions of said sheet overlying the depressed areas of said stencil, and scraping it oil` those portions of the sheet overlying the raised areas of the; stencil to leave no coating upon such portions of the sheet.

7. A method of producing predetermined patterns or designs upon sheet materials comprising the steps of applying a suitable plastic coating material to the surface of the sheet, supporting the sheetvupon a stencil bearing the desired pattern thereon, in relief and forcing the stencil, sheet and plastic material throu h a constricting aperture or slit, thereby to orce the plastic material upon and into the portions of said sheet overlying the de.

pressed areas of said stencil and scraping it off those portions of the sheet overlying the raised areas of the stencil, to leave a deposit thereof,in relief, corresponding to the relief depressions of the stencil.

8. A printed sheet material characterized by bearing a pattern or design upon the surface thereof composed of iiexible rubber coating material, in relief.

9. A printed sheet material characterized by bearing a pattern or design upon the surface thereof composed of a plurality of different leXible rubber coating materials, in relief.

10. A-method of coating sheet materials in designated patterns, comprising passing said sheet in Contact with a mass of suitable plastic material to form said coating, simultaneously with a relatively-rigid sheet, bearing the desired design or pattern thereon in intaglio,

through a constricting aperture delined by a pair of spaced edges substantially parallel thereto.

v ll. A method of coating sheet materials in designated patterns, comprising passing said sheet between a'xed blade and a spreadin roll, substantially i parallel thereto, sai s reading roll carryin thedesired atterri t ereon,1n intaglio, an applying to t e surface of the sheet amass of suitable .plastic coating materia-l. Si ned by me at Boston, Massachusetts, this rstday of March, 1929.

' JAY J. SINDLER.l

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